The Rolling Stones are set to reissue Exile on Main Street in expanded bonus-track – even unfinished-leftover-track-completed-years-later-by-surviving-members-a la-The Beatles’ “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” (but with neither Mick nor Keef having to die first) bonus track – format! This will surely be their best album since Exile…!
One name in particular stood out for me from this report:
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New feature that is likely the most horrible feature ever here in the halls. It’s like Dugout Chatter but laser focused and violent. It’s anathema to all that Rock Town Hall stands for. But the concept is simple. A question is posed. You answer it as quickly as possible with zero qualifications as if you had a… gun to the head. Debut category-
What’s your favorite song?
I know, I know. Outlandish question. Typically when I’m asked to name my favorite song I reply “If you can name a favorite song then you haven’t heard enough music.” But that’s not what I’d say if I had a… gun to the head. If that were the case I’d say-
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Let’s dance! It’s sammymaudlin‘s birthday. The Back Office is in full swing.
Elfin, harp-playing indie darling Joanna Newsom has released a triple album, Have One On Me, on Drag City. If you can’t get off on a three-album set of this Lady of the Woods then someone’s been slipping salt peter into your breakfast cereal! Contrary to initial reports, a bonus DVD of performances lacking sound is not being offered. Damn!
For purposes of sincere discussion, I pose the following questions:
I truly hope to gain some insights from fans of Ms. Newsom.
When I was young I could reel off a list of working rock critics whose opinions I couldn’t wait to read. Most of the names wouldn’t shock you. Back then, if they weren’t publishing in a nationally distributed rock magazine or fanzine, be it Rolling Stone, Trouser Press, The Big Takeover, or Option, chances are I wouldn’t have been able to read them. By the early ’90s perhaps their work was collected in a book and I’d have a chance to catch up. There were no URLs to take me to any newspaper or blog imaginable.
Today, with a billion outlets to read rock reviews, I have difficulty naming a favorite working rock critic. In part this is because I’m old and petrifying. How could I judge a rock critic by his or her opinions on a new artist whose work I can’t imagine liking that much? In part it may be because I have too many options, and I can read reviews willy-nilly without ever having to pay attention to the byline. It’s a bit like my difficulty learning song titles in the age of digital downloads. It takes work to squint and comprehend the 3-pt type scrolling across my iPod.
I’m not asking this question to blow smoke up anyone’s ass. I’m curious to know who your favorite working rock critics are – and what makes them so appealing to you. If you can post a link to a favorite piece, that would be much appreciated.
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Have you heard an interview with Ozzy Osbourne over the last 10 years – and been able to make out half of what he’s saying? I have, and the man can’t get through an interview without gushing over his love for The Beatles and the influence they’ve always held over him. In one way this isn’t surprising because I figure what kid growing up in England in the ’60s wasn’t knocked out by The Beatles. On the other hand, a spin of the music of Black Sabbath or Ozzy’s solo records doesn’t make me think Beatles. Except for some recent single of his.
What is the least-expected influence you’ve heard an artist cite? Continue reading »
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I’ve never heard anyone who’s seen The Kinks live say they were a great live band. I’ve never seen them myself because dating back to my high school days, when they were at their suprising arena-rock height and I’d hear live concerts of them, they never sounded like they’d deliver anything near what I loved about them on record, in the privacy of my bedroom. Then, into the early ’80s, they started making albums that didn’t interest me in the least – and from concert recordings I’d hear from that period they had the nerve to stand behind those new songs and play them live.
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As video evidence of my favorite rock bands became more accessible in the ’80s, even early performances of The Kinks with all their British Invasion exhuberance were unwhelming. There are many reasons for why The Kinks have never been known as anything more than a mediocre live band, but from what I’ve seen the reasons start with Ray Davies. He’s too self-conscious. The humor of The Kinks is in the music; he doesn’t need to play it up with the goofy hand gestures (see the 40-second mark of the above clip, where Ray’s pointless holstering and gesturing first kick in) and “Banana Boat Song” call-and-response nonsense. That stuff almost always takes me out of the performance and undercuts the ambiguities inherent in their music. It doesn’t help that Ray seems incapable of smiling without smirking.
Meanwhile, the poignancy of The Kinks’ music often gets lost in their live performances. That 1977 clip that Townsman misterioso provided of The Kinks playing “Celluloid Heroes” on British television was surprisingly straightforward and appropriately reserved, but too often, from what I’ve seen and heard, Ray can’t step forward as a clear, confident lead singer on a sensitive song and the band can’t lay back and support things in a subtle, interesting way to make what I feel is the heart of the sound of The Kinks work in a live setting. Am I way off base here; does any of this ring true?
I should note that there is ample video evidence of The Kinks lip-synching to their greatest, most poignant songs, and they demonstrate great skill at this then-nascent rock ‘n roll act. I’m not kidding – and this may be saying something that will help answer the question for you at the end of this piece.
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Before we get into the question I have for you, here’s an interesting clip I’d never seen before today. Ray is sans guitar and energetically fronting a full-title boogie band version of The Kinks, from a 1972 television show, if I’m getting this right. The clip even comes with the magical timecode that, in my opinion, makes any video at least two degrees cooler.
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